Cape Verdeans in the Netherlands consist of migrants from Cape Verde to the Netherlands and their descendants. As of 2010[update], figures from Statistics Netherlands showed 20,961 people of Cape Verdean origin in the Netherlands (people from Cape Verde, or those with a parent from there).[1]

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Early migration from Cape Verde to the Netherlands began in the 1960s and 1970s. The migrants consisted primarily of young men who had signed on as sailors on Dutch ships, and as such they concentrated primarily in the port city of Rotterdam, especially the Heemraadsplein area. Another wave of migration began in 1975, following the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal; this new wave of migrants comprised primarily teachers, soldiers, and other lower officials of the former government. There was an immigration amnesty for Cape Verdean migrants in 1976.[3]

From 1996 to 2010, the number of Cape Verdeans in the Netherlands recorded by Statistics Netherlands grew by roughly 25% from a base of 16,662 people; about three-quarters of the growth in that period was in the 2nd-generation category (people born in the Netherlands to one or two migrant parents from Cape Verde).[1]

Approximately 90% live in the Rotterdam metropolitan area.[4] In Rotterdam, the largest concentration live in Delfshaven, where they make up about 8.8% of the borough's population.[5] The city has more than 60 Cape Verdean civil organisations.[6] Smaller groups can be found in other cities such as Schiedam, Amsterdam, Zaanstad, and Delfzijl.[7]

Cape Verdeans generally have better labour market outcomes than other migrant groups like Turks or Moroccans, similar to those of Surinamese, but worse than those of natives.[8] The various Cape Verdean-run hair salons of Rotterdam often serve as gathering points for the women of the community.[9] Other common ethnic business niches include transport businesses and travel agencies.[9]

de Freitas, C. (2005), "Health has no Borders: Cape Verdean Immigrants in the Netherlands and the Transnational Quest for Health Care Across Europe", International Journal of Migration, Health, and Social Care1 (1): 19–36